um, best news of the year?

The Young Marble Giants are back together, momentarily, for the Welsh Hay Festival. I really don't know anything about Hay, except that it appears to be a glorified book fair for smart people.

The Young Marble Giants are one of my favorite bands of all time for two reasons. First, they managed to distance themselves from everything going on musically in the late '70s/early 80s and produce a near perfect record (Colossal Youth) on the first try. In fact, from the looks of this list the 1979 Colossal Youth demo tape was probably the best thing released that year. Second, they influenced a host of my favorite musicians: Lou Reed, David Bowie, The Vaselines, Kurt Cobain, Stephin Merritt (not to mention bands who influenced Merritt, like Kraftwerk). Belle & Sebastian, Adam Green, and Stephin Merritt have all covered the Young Marble Giants, as well.

So anyways, if you're near Wales in about 10 days, you definitely should go see them. I can't imagine that it'll be anything but totally awesome.